In March, Hilton made Yotel the first brand in its new Select by Hilton category, adding the U.K-based company’s 23 hotels to its booking system and positioning the boutique brand for
Yotel CEO Phil Andreopoulos, who took on his new role in September, said that his company made the first move in suggesting a collaboration. “I was brought into this role to help scale the business,” he said. “I had decided very early on that, probably, the most efficient way of doing that would be to partner up with one or other of the big-brand hotel companies.” He started as CEO on a Monday and had his first conversation with Hilton on the Friday of that week, he recalled.
While Andreopoulos talked with leaders from a number of hotel companies, he determined that Hilton and Yotel would be a good match thanks to Hilton’s distribution system and loyalty program. Similarly, the team “wanted to protect all of the things that make Yotel special” and maintain “complete control of our own destiny as a company.” Under the terms of the “franchise-style” agreement with Hilton, Yotel will keep its brand standards and “DNA,” he said.
Fierce Independence
Maintaining that DNA was a priority, Andreopoulos continued. “A small brand gets taken over by a big company, and all of the things that made that small brand an attractive proposition in the first place … get squeezed out by the big company and the way that they operate their brands. We don't want that to happen to Yotel. We want to stay fiercely independent and in control of our own destiny. That's what our customers want. That's what our owners want.”
To that end, Andreopoulos said the process of finalizing the agreement was “complicated”—but said this was because both parties are committed to maintaining the relationship for the long term, even as the industry changes. “You want to make sure that every eventuality is being considered, even though many of them will never come to pass,” he said. “We are a complicated industry, and we were trying to make sure that we had every eventuality mapped out for what the industry might look like in the future.”
Now that the agreement is settled, Andreopoulos expects it to both help support Yotel’s growth and boost appeal for new partners “To the franchisees—the developers and operators in North America—Yotel is a new and exciting brand for them to think about franchising,” he said. “Hilton adds a layer of … extra credibility in that space, given their own past success in franchising.”
Hilton also can help existing Yotel owners through its purchasing procurement platform, which has more “buying power” than a smaller brand could provide to owners. “Yotel would not be able to negotiate the kinds of deals that Hilton negotiates with with suppliers across the board, whether that be at the hotel level or at the corporate level,” Andreopoulos said. “Now that we are collaborating with them, we're able to be part of their system and then benefit from those arrangements that they have.”
Similarly, Andreopoulos expects Yotel’s revenue-management practices will evolve through the agreement to adjust more effectively to lengths of stay and demand.
Flagship Brand
Being the flagship brand of the new Select by Hilton category is a “ringing endorsement” for Yotel, Andreopoulos said. “It also feels good to be working with Hilton as they … shape what Select is going to look like—and if we can be the model for what comes next, that's great.”
During Hilton’s Q1 2026 earnings call, Chris Nassetta emphasized the loyalty Yotel commands. “It's unique. It doesn't fit in [Tapestry Collection] or Curio [Collection]. It's its own thing.” The company created the new category for the brand to avoid “cognitive dissonance” with existing customers as the company brings the brand into the system.
Andreopoulos sees Yotel filling an upper-midscale lifestyle space in Hilton’s portfolio. Guests, he added, will have access to hotels in destinations and neighborhoods that may not have considered visiting in the past. In the long term, he hopes this agreement will help bring Yotel to new destinations, including resort markets. “We know that about half of our current guests are traveling for leisure,” he said, and noted “a couple of interesting conversations that we're having with prospective developers.” A Yotel beach resort would probably not be directly on the beach, he added, but slightly further inland, making it convenient not only to the shoreline but to land-based activities.